






"^°"--.\ /.c^.% ./\-^<X /.c:^^^-o 



y" . 




'-^o^ 







V-^^ 



0^<=>' 












v-^;^ 








A 












o V 





: ^0 v-^ ^^ 










'^vP^'^ 




L- "^^ A^ ♦! 










iO^.. 



lO-Tt. 




-^^0^ 




'^^o'^ 




"OV" 



o > 










-^^0^ 
































'P. <( 















^^^"^s&l^ 



W»' 




NATIONAL 
PARK 



HODGENVILLE, 
KENTUCKY. 



Souvenir 



OF 



Lincoln National Park 



HODGENVILLE, 
KENTUCKY. 



BY 
REV. LOUIS A. WARREN 



PUBLISHERS 

HERALD PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

HODGENVILLE, KY. 



: 45 7 



sz 



^?7 



Copyright, 19:^(), 
By Rev. Louis A . Warren 



m -3 IS2! 



g)CU605212 



PREFACE 

The publication of the work in hand is an attempt on the part 
of the compiler to present to the public a souvenir of Lincoln National 
Park, which will adequately illustrate and describe the places of in- 
terest on the farm where Abraham Lincoln was born. 

The descriptions which accompany the different views serve as 
brief histoi-ical sketches and attempt to give the visitor to the park 
such information as will allow him to appreciate to a greater extent 
the many interesting places. The history of the farm is traced from 
the time that a patent was granted by the Commonwealth of Virgi?-'ia 
in 1786, until it was accepted as a National Park by the United States 
Government in 1916. 

Another feature of the souvenir which the tourist Avill appre- 
ciate is an exact copy of the many insci iptions which are found 0'5 
both the exterior and interior Vv^alls of the memorial buildi.-ig, includin"- 
the list of officers i^.nd trustees of the Lincoln Farm Association, 
which appear on bronze tablets on the rear wall of the structure. The 
itinerary cf the log cabin in its journeys about the country is also 
traced, and much new material which has not heretofore appeared in 
print is made available to the reader. 

The compiler acknowledges his obligation to the follov/ing per- 
se ns who have been of assistance to hira in gathei'ing the facts pub- 
lished herein: Mr. 0. M. Mather, whose great grand-father was an 
owner of the Lincoln Farci in the latter part of the nineteenth century; 
Judge R. W. Crcal, whose father purchased the farm shortly after the 
Lincolns moved frcm it; Williams & Handley, attorneys for the Lin- 
coln Farm Association; R. M. M-mford, publisher of the LaRue County 
Herald, and John Cissell, overseer of the Lincoln Park. 

REV. LOULS A. WARREN, 
Hodgenville, Ky, 



LINCOLN NATIONAL PARK. 

CHP] names of Jones and Collier will always be asso- 
ciated with the Lincoln National Park. Rev Jenkins 
Lloyd Jones and his son Richard Lloyd Jones, might be 
called the originators of the plan to conserve the birth- 
place of Lincoln and Robert J. Collier was of great assis- 
tance in carrying out the proposed program. 

The Lincoln Farm Association was the organization 
wdiich made the park possible and this brief word sug- 
gests the purpose of the movement, "This is a patriotic, 
association of the citizens of the United States, formed to 
develop the Lincohi Birthplace Farm, at Hodgenville, 
Kentucky, into a permanent Lincoln National Park — a 
park of patriotism." The association raised $385,000 by 
public subscri])tion. All but $48,000 was S])ent for im- 
]U'ovements, which sum was left as an endowment to care 
for the park. 

The following excerpt is from the deed showing the 
transfer of the l)irtli])lace of Abraham Lincohi from the 
liincoln Farm Association to the Ignited States of 
America : 

"T^pon considerations that lands herein described 
together with the buildings and ap])urtenances thereunto 
Ix'longing shall be forever dedicated to the purpose of a 
National Park or Reservation, and the party of the second 
part, the United States of America, agrees to protect and 
preserve the said lands and buildings and appurtenances, 
and especially the T^og Cabin in which Abraham Lincoln 
was born, and the Memorial Hall enclosing same from 
spoiliation, destruction and further disintegration, to th-"^ 
end that there shall never be any charge made to or asked 
from the ])ul)lic for admission to said park or reserv;i- 
tion." 



- THE JACKSON HIGHWAY 

^j^c\ ^^^ Liiieohi National Park is situated on the Nat- 
^^ ional highway running North and South thru Ken- 
tucky, which has as its terminals the Great Lakes on th-- 
north and the Gulf on the south. The Highway inter 
sects the historic farm traversing it from north to south. 
The northern entrance is marked by two brick columns 
capiK'd with stone, with tl'e inscri|)ti()n "Lincoln Farm" 
carved in stone plates. 

The Jackson Highway from Louisville south was 
once known as the Louisville and Nashville Turn])ike, 
and later the segment from Bardstowii south, was called 
the Bardstown and Green River Turnpike. Still later 
the road was taken over by the Jackson Highway Asso- 
ciation. Today as a National project it ])romises to be- 
come the main thoroughfare for motor traffic betwe( i^ 
tlie Lakes and the Gulf. 

It is dou})tful if there is a segment of tw('nty-fi\'e 
miles on any highway in the mi(hlle west, that has as 
many iJaces of historic interest as the Jackson Highway 
fi'om Bardstown to ITodgenville. At Bardstown is the 
"Old Kentucky fronie" where Ste|)hen Foster wrote tlie 
greatest of Am(^rican folk sonizs; also the grave of dolni 
Fitch the unhonored inventor of the first steamboat; and 
St. Jose])]rs (^athed]-al, the ol(i"st one west of the Alle- 
gl'any Mountains, with its rare collection of old paint'U'rs. 
Near New Ha\'en is the Al)bey of Getbsemani, one of tli" 
two monasteries of the Trappist order in the rnit"d 
States, a.nd wiiere life may be seen as it was lived in the 
middle ages; wliile at Hodgenville is the Lincoln National 
Park. Continuing south tli(^ Jackson Highway leads to 
Mammoth Cave, about 60 miles from the birth ])lace o^' 
Tiincoln. 




* "^^^ ■ 



Tlh© JsicS^g©im HIng]h^y^ 



THE RAIL FENCE 

IT is the intent i(;ii of tlic Tnited States (lovernnient 
to retain at tlie farm on which Lincohi was born, 
all the natural elements that will contribute to the early 
environment which characterized the sacred spot. One 
of the first evidences of this purpose that the visitor 
notices in the approach to the reservation, is the rail 
fence which borders that portion of the Jackson Highway 
that passes through the Park. With the possible exce])- 
tion of "Honest Abe" no appelation has been used in re- 
ferring- to Lincoln more frecjuently than that of "Tlie 
Rail Splitter." While Lincoln was too young when he 
left the place of his birth to have any part in the manual 
labor about the ])lace, he undoubtedly saw rails split l)y 
his father on this very farm. 

We learn from John Hanks that when the FJncoln 
Family arrived on the Sangamon River in Macon Coun 
ty, Illinois, that the lanky young Kentuckian was already 
initiated into his early occupation, as Hanks says, "Abe 
and myself split rails enough to fence the plac'^ in." He 
also says that when Lincoln was 22 years old, "He mad" 
8,000 rails for Maj. Warnick walking three miles daily to 
his work. " The lover of Lincoln will always admire the 
rugged rail fence, and it was a lia])i)y thought t(^ conserve 
the one on the ])lnce of liis V)i!'th. 




Tlhe IRsinE F©m\c® 



LINCOLN FARM 

nlX('()I.X F;nTii is n \K\r\ ol" the tract of 30,000 
acres for which a ])atcnt was .i^Taiited to William 
(Trccnou.^h by the Commonwealth of ^"ir^•inia on the 20th 
of Fel)ruary, 1786 . On the 29th of Jnly, 1786, Greenough 
conveyed an nndivided moiety of this 30,000 acre tract to 
John Hood, and the other nndivided moiety to Joseph 
James. On the 11th day of Jnne, 1798, Joseph James 
conveyed his nndivided moiety of this tract to Richard 
Mather, who filed an action in Hardin (\)nnty for a 
division. In April, 1801, commissioners were ;ippointed 
by the Hardin Connty Conrt to make the division l)e- 
tween the heirs of John Hood and Richard Matliei'. This 
division was made by the commissioners in the year 
1802, and Richard Mather was allotted the north half of 
the ,30,000 acre tract, or 15,000 acres, within which tin- 
Lincoln Farm is located. 

Three hnndred acres of this l.l.OOO acre tract were 
pnrchased by AVilliam Hnckwortli . The bond of Richard 
Mather to William Dnckworth for one hnndi'ed acres is 
dated March 19. 1814. When the ()th(^r two hnndred 
acres were pnrchased from Mather by Dnckworth is not 
sho^vn, l)nt this pnrchase was made prior to the pnrchas" 
of the 100 acres. The 100 acre tract is described in the 
bond of March 19, 1814. as "Lvin<'- on the Sonth Fork of 
Nolin, on the east side of th^^ Road that ffoes from Bnrk- 
harts of Hodo'enville." It was while Mr Mather control- 
ed the nropertv that Thoinas Tjineoln seenred a'^sanatter-- 
ric;"ht" but never seemed to be able to obt.'iin a clear title. 



LINCOLN FARM. 

(Continued) 

By a bond dated August 17, 1827, 0. Duckworth sold 
to Micajali Middleton the above three hundred acres of 
land, being the same on which Wm. Duckworth, deceas- 
ed, formerly lived. From this it would apj^ear that C. 
Duckwortli was the heir of William Duckworth. 

Micajali Middleton sold his right and interest in this 
300 acres by indorsement on the bond given him by C. 
Duckworth, as follows, "July 21st., 1828. For value 
receiviMl I assign this l)ond to Richard Creal without re- 
course in ease Mather's heirs paid for the land. 
Micajah Middleton." 

Richard Creal sold a i)()rtion of this tract but kept 
the one hundred ten and one-half acres which constitutes 
the present Lincoln Farm, and which he retained until 
his death. 

On November 23, 1894, the Richard Creal heirs sold 
the property to Alfred AV. Dennett of New York for the 
sum of $3,000. The (UmmI recorded at the LaRue County 
Court House refers to the property as, "the Lincobi 
Spring Faim and is the same on which Al)raliam Lincoln 
was l)orn. " The bankruptcy of Mr. Dennett caused tho 
farm to be sold under the In.nuuer at the Court House 
door in Hcdgenvillc, on August 28, 1905, and it was pur- 
chased by Rol)(>rt J. (\)llier for $3,600. On Nov. 9, 1907, 
Mr. Collier turned tlic ])ro])'n'ty over to the Ijincoln Farm 
Association for a consicU^-ation of $1 .00 and on A])ril lltli 
1906, the Lincoln Farm Association deeded the Lincoln 
Farm to the Ignited States of America. 




[©lonioipamll ']n)Tl'w®m''^w 



THE MEMORIAL BUILDING 

^j^^ HE arcliitectiire of the Memorial Building- is an 
V ^J original design by John Russell Pope, the construc- 
tion was superintended by Norcross Brothers of Worces- 
ter, Mass., and th(< material used was Stony Creek Con- 
necticut granite. 

Within the l)uilding stands the humble log cal>iu in 
which Abraham Lincoln was l)orn, and with the excep- 
tion of the inscri])tions on the walls and a card index 
cal)inet to one side, there is nothing further to detract 
the attention of the visitor from the chief object of in- 
terest. The cabinet contains the names of those who 
made possible the ])urchase of the farm, the cabin, the 
erection of the Memorial Building and the improvement? 
on the old Home Place. 

From the time that the huilding ])roject was launch- 
ed to the date of the acceptance of the |)ark l)y the United 
States Government, three presidents have visited tli' 
memorial and taken ])art in the exercises a])|)ropriate to 
the occasions. The ceremonies at the laying of the 
corner stone, Fel). 12, 19')9, were presided over by Presi- 
dent Theodoi'e Roosevelt. The dedicatory services on 
November 9th., 1911, were attended l)y President William 
Howard Taft, and the forma: acce])tance of the Lincoln 
Farm as a National Park was by President Woodrow 

AVilson on behalf of the United States of America, Se])!- 
4,1 <)!(). 

■ Companion for the centuries art thou, 

And yet thy erun^blin^ granite, turned to dust, 
Shall not ontlive that wastinp; pile, whose log's 
Inspirtnl, eternity will keep in trust. 




•*-i*p-l , .-J -■,. _,J '**.-», 



EXTERIOR INSCRIPTIONS 

ON 

MEMORIAL BUILDING 

LET IS HA\'K FAITH 

THAT RIGHT MAKES MIGHT, 

AND IN THAT FAITH LET US TO 

THE END DARE TO DO OUR DUTY 

Cooper Institute, N. Y. Feb. 27, 1860. 

STAND WITH ANYBODY THAT 

STANDS RIGHT 

STAND WITH HIM WHILE HE 

IS RI(H4T, AND PART WITH HIM 

WHEN HE GOES AVRONG 

Peoria, 111., Oct. IG, 1854. 

HERE 

OXVAI THE LOG CABIN WHERE ABRAHAM 

LINCOLN WAS BORN DESTINED TO 

PRESER\^E THE UNION AND FREE THE SLA\'E 

A GRATEFUL PEOPLE HAVE DEDICATED 

THIS MEMORIAL TO UNITY PEACE 
AND BR( )THERH( )( )D AM( )NG THE STATI^.S 

WHTH MALICE TOWARDS NONE, 
AVITH CHARITY FOR ALL 




'astairaH Vlem^ of MenKHoraal 



THIS MEMOKIAI. 

ERECTED 

15V POPTLAR SUBS! UilPT ION 

THROUGH THE 

I . I N( H ) LN FARM ASSOCIATK )N 
JOSEPH W. FOEK 

PRESIDENT 

ROBERT J. COLLIER 

VICE PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF 
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

(M.ARENC^E H. MAi^KAY 

TREASURER 

RICHARD LLOYD JONES 

SECRETARY 



JOHN RUSSELL POPE 

ARCHITECT 



(M)RNERST()NE LAID BY 

iniESIDENT RO()SE\J^]LT 

FEBRUARY 12, 1909 




IRemr Vfl©^y^ ©f Mesnaos^ie^Il 



BOARD OF TRUSTEES 

OF THE 

LINCOLN FARM ASSOCIATION 

WILLIAM li. TAFF 
J( )SEPH W. FOLK 
HORACK PORTER 
CHARLES E. HUGHES 
OSCAR S. STRAUS 
JOHN A. JOHNSON 
ALBERT SHAW 
SAMUEL L. CLEMENS 
C^LARENCE H. MACKAY 
NORMAN HAPGOOD 
LYMAN J. GAGE 
SAMUEL GOMPERS 
AUGUST BELMONT 
ROBERT J. (H)LLTER 
AU(}USTUS E. WH.LSON 
HENRY WATTERSON 
JENKLXS LLOYD JONES 
THOMAS HASTINGS 
IDA M. TARBELL 
(^HARLES A. TOWNE 
RK^HARD LLOYD JONES 
{^ARDNIAL (HBBONS 
JOSEPH H. CHAOTE 
EDWARD M. SHEPHERD 
WILLIAM J. BRYAN 
CHARLES E. MINER 
WILLIAM T. JEROME 
AUGUSTUS ST. GAI'DENS 




HoiPHlhi VieN^F ©f MemmoiPLgill 



THE CORNER STONE 

y^=;'lJE CoriKT Stone in the north cast corner of tJio 
V^J])nil(lin'u' (lesii>nated by the inscription "Febrnary 
12, 19(;!)" was laid at the dedicatory services wliich were 
held in commemoration of the one hnndredtli anniversary 
of Lincoln's birth. Tlieodor" Roosevelt then president of 
the United States officiated at the exercises. 

The stone is a l)lock of Connecticnt Granite weigliin^i' 
.3,000 ponnds. After the stone was ready for placement 
Theodore Roosevelt applied the first mortar with a silver 
trowel. After each address the written copies were placed 
in the corner stone along with other interesting data. 

The eoirtents of the metal box within the stone witli 
tile name of the person depositing same are as follows: 

Address on ))ehalf of the (Jovernment — Tlieo(h>]-e 
Roosevelt. 

Ad(h-ess on Isehalf of Lincoln Farm Association — 
(!ov..lose])h W. Folk 

A(l(h'ess (HI behalf the State of Kentnckv — Gov. A. 
Willson 

Address on beiialf of th" Federal Army — (Jen. James 
Grant Wilson. 

Address on l)ehalf of (\^nfe(U'i-a1e Armv — Gen. Lnk.' 
E. Wright 

('opy of Emanci])ation PrcK'lamation — I. T. Mont- 
gomery, Ex Slav(> 

Goins of tho Day — Clarence H. Mackay 

History of hincoln Faj-m Association — Richard Lloyd 
Jones 

Vopy of LaRn(> Gonntv Hei'ahl Fel)rnr.rv 11, 1909— 
Robert J. (\)llier 

Silk Aiii'M !";mi Fl;!'-:— Tlieodor" Ro(:sev(lt 




TIhe Cos=im©iF St^©irae 



THE LOG CABIN 

^^ HERE is nothiiii^- at the Park that rivals in in- 
V^ _J tercst Tlie Log Cabin in which Jjincohi was born. 
Slielteretl now from the elements and also from the hand 
of the vandal, it is conserved so that future generations 
may be inspired by its presence . Its history is as roman- 
tic as the life of the child that left the cabin for the 
While House. A family by the name of Harrison lived 
in the cabin after the Lincolns left, then it was vacant 
for several years. In the early sixties shortly after Lin- 
coln was chosen President, George Rodman, an admirer 
of Lincoln, bought the old cal)in from Richard Creal and 
moved it from its original site to his ]n'operty about one 
and one-half miles from the Ijincoln farm. It was first 
used as a shelter for negroes later as a tenant house. Two 
terms of school were taught in the cal)in about 1872 and 
1873. In 1875 John Davenport married the school 
teacher and they went to kee])ing house in the Cabin. 
They lived there until 1894 when the cabin was purchas- 
ed by A. W. Dennett and moved l)ack to its original site 
on the Lincoln Farm. 

The cal)in rested on the old foundation but a short 
time then it was taken down and the 14:] l(\i2,s were ship- 
ped to the Nashville Centennial in 1894. It was moved 
to Central Park, New York, and again exhibited at the 
Buffalo Exposition in 191)1, after which it was purchased 
by David Creer and stored in the old Poffenhausen Man- 
sion on Ijong Island. In 1906 the Lincoln Farm Associa- 
tion purchased the cabin and shipped it to Ijouisville 
where it was one of the features of the Louisville Home 
Coming Celebration. It was stored in Louisville until 
the laying of the corner stone of the Memorial Building 
in 1909 when it was brought to Hodgenville for the oc- 
casion, l)ut innnediately returned to storage and remain- 
ed there until the l)uilding which houses it was dedicated 
in 1911. 



INSCRIPTIONS WITHIN 

HE V/AS THE NORTH, THE SOUTH, THE EAST, THE WEST. 
THE THRALL, THE MASTER, ALL OF US IN ONE; 
THERE WAS NO SECTION THAT HE HELD THE BEST; 
HIS LOVE SHOWN AS IMPARTIAL AS THE SUN; 
AND SO REVENGE APPEALED TO HIM IN VAIN, 
HE SMILED AT IT AS AT A THING FORLORN, 
AND GENTLY PUT IT FROM HIM, ROSE AND STOOD 
A MOMENTS SPACE IN PAIN, 
REMEMBERING THE PRARIES AND THE CORN 
AND THE GLAD VOICES OF THE FIELD AND WOOD. 

MAURICE THOMPSON 

THE COLOR OF THE GROUND WAS IN HIM THE RED EARTH; 

THE SMELL AND SMACK OF ELEMENTAL THINGS: 

THE RECTITUDE AND PATIENCE OF THE CLIFF; 

THE GOOD WILL OF THE RAIN THAT LOVES ALL LEAVES; 

THE FRIENDLY WELCOME OF THE WAYSIDE WELL; 

THE COURAGE OF THE BIRD THAT DARES THE SEA; 

THE GLADNESS OF THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE CORN; 

THE MERCY OF THE SNOW THAT HIDES ALL SCARS; 

THE SECRECY OF STREAMS THAT MAKE THEIR WAY 

BENEATH THE MOUNTAIN TO THE RIFTED ROCK; 

THE UNDELAYING JUSTICE OF THE LIGHT 

THAT GLIDES AS FREELY TO THE SHRINKING FLOWER 

AS TO THE GREAT OAK FLARING TO THE WIND 

TO THE GRAVES LOW HILL AS TO THE MATTERHORN 

THAT SHOULDERS OUT THE SKY. 

EDWIN MARKHAM 



MEMORIAL BUILDING 

I WAS BORN FEB. 12, 1809, IN HARDIN COUNTY 
KENTUCKY. MY PARENTS WERE BORN IN 
VIRGINIA. MY MOTHER WHO DIED IN MY TENTH 
YEAR, WAS OF A FAMILY OF THE NAME OF HANKS. 
MY FATHER AT THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER WAS 
BUT SIX YEARS OF AGE, AND HE GREW UP, 
LITTERALLY WITHOUT EDUCATION. HE REMOVED 
FROM KENTUCKY TO WHAT IS NOW SPENCER 
COUNTY, INDIANA, IN MY EIGHTH YEAR. WE REACHED 
OUR NEW HOME ABOUT THE TIME THE STATE 
CAME INTO THE UNION. IT WAS A WILD REGION, 
WITH MANY BEARS AND OTHER WILD ANIMALS, 
STILL IN THE WOODS. THERE I GREW UP. THERE 
WERE SOME SCHOOLS, SO CALLED. 
THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO EXCITE 
AMBITION FOR EDUCATION. OF COURSE WHEN 
I CAME OF AGE I DID NOT KNOW MUCH. STILL, 
SOMEHOW, I COULD READ, W^RITE, AND CIPHER 
TO THE RULE OF THREE BUT THAT WAS ALL. 
THE LITTLE ADVANCE I NOW HAVE UPON THIS 
STORE OF EDUCATION, I HAVE PICKED UP FROM 
TIME TO TIME, UNDER THE PRESSURE 
OF NECESSITY. 

A. LINCOLN 



THOMAS LINCOLN 

January 30, 1770 January 17, 1851 

FIFTH IN DESCENT FROM SAMUEL LINCOLN, WEAVER, 
WHO LANDED AT HINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, MAY 26, 
1637. ORPHANED AT SIX YEARS OF AGE BY AN INDIAN 
BULLET HE GREW UP HOMELESS IN THE WILD WOODS 
OF KENTUCKY. AT TWENTY-FIVE HE WAS THE 
POSSESSOR OF THIS CABIN HOME AND ITS 
NEIGHBORING ACRES. IN 1818 HE MOVED TO INDIANA, 
THEN A TERRITORY, FIVE YEARS LATER HE FOLLOWED 
THE TIDE OF IMMIGRATION TO ILLINOIS, WHERE HE 
LIVED A PEACEFUL, INDUSTRIOUS, RESPECTED 
CITIZEN, A GENERAL, HONEST AND CONTENTED 
PIONEER. WITH COURAGE AND ENERGY HE BUILT 
WITH HIS OWN HAND FIVE HOMES, EACH BETTER 
THAN THE PRECEEDING ONE, HE WON AND HELD 
THE LOVE AND CONFIDENCE OF TWO NOBLE WOMEN 
AND HE WAS THE FATHER OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
"MY FATHER INSISTED THAT NONE OF HIS CHILDREN 
SHOULD SUFFER FOR THE WANT OF EDUCATION AS HE 
HAD" ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

'HE WAS A GOOD CARPENTER FOR THE TIMES. 
HE HAD THE BEST SET OF TOOLS IN WASHINGTON 
COUNTY. THE LINCOLNS HAD A COW AND A CALF, 
MILK AND BUTTER, A GOOD FEATHER BED— FOR I HAVE 
SLEPT ON IT THEY HAD A HOME-WOVEN 'KIVERLID,' 
BTG AND LITTLE POTS, A LOOM AND WHEEL. 
TOM LINCOLN WAS A MAN AND TOOK CARE OF IJIS 
WIFE. REVEREND JESSE HEAD, THE MINISTER 
WHO MAI'^RIED 1 OM LINCOLN AND NANCY HANKS, 
TALKED BOLDLY AGAINST SLAVERY AND TOM AND 
NANCY LINCOLN AND SARAH BUSH WERE JUST 
STEEPED FULL OF JESSE HEAD'S NOTIONS 
ABOUT THE WRONGS OF SLAVERY AND THE RIGHTS 
OF MAN AS EXPLAINED BY THOMAS JEFFERSON AND 
THOMAS PAINE." 

Professor T. C. Graham of 
Louisville, Kentucky 



NANCY HANKS LINCOLN 
February 4, 1784 October 5, 1818 

BORN IN VIRGINIA; WHEN THREE YEARS OLD 
HER PARENTS JOSEPH AND NANCY SHIPLEY 
HANKS, CROSSED THE MOUNTAINS INTO 
KENTUCKY. ORPHANED AT NINE SHE WAS ADOPTED 
AND REARED BY RICHARD AND LUCY SHIPLEY 
BERRY, AT WHOSE HOME IN BEECHLAND, WASH- 
INGTON COUNTY, KENTUCKY, SHE WAS MARRIED TO 
THOMAS LINCOLN, JUNE 17, 1PC(5. OF THIS UNION 
WERE BORN SARAH, ABRAHAM AND THOMAS. THE 
FIRST MARRIED AARON GRIGSBY AND DIED IN 
INDIANA IN 1828. THE LAST DIED IN INFANCY. THE 
SECOND LIVED TO WRITE THE EMANCIPATION 
PROCLAMATION. THE DAYS OF THE DISTAFF THE 
SKILLETT, THE DUTCH OVEN THE OPEN FIREPLACE 
WITH ITS IRON CRANE ARE NO LONGER, BUT 
HOMEMAKING IS STILL THE FINEST OF THE FINE 
ARTS. NANCY HANKS WAS TOUCHED WITH THE 
DIVINE APTITUDES OF THE FIRESIDE. LOVE AND 
HONORED FOR HER WIT, GENIALITY AND INTELLIGENCE, 
SHE JUSTIFIED AN ANCESTRY REACHING BEYOND 
THE SEAS, REPRESENTED BY THE NOTABLE NAMES 
OF HANKS. SHIPLEY, BOONE, EVANS AND MORRIS. TO HER 
WAS ENTRUSTED THE TASK OF TRAINING A GIANT, IN 
WHOSE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES SHE WAS HALLOWED. 
OF HER HE SAID, "MY EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS OF MY 
MOTHER IS SITTING AT HER FEET WITH MY SISTER DRINK- 
ING IN THE TALES AND LEGENDS THAT WERE READ AND 
RELATED TO US." TO HIM ON HER DEATH BED SHE 
SAID: 'I AM GOING AWAY FROM YOU ABRAHAM, AND 
I SHALL NOT RETURN. I KNOW YOU WILL BE A GOOD BOY, 
THAT YOU WILL BE KIND TO SARAH AND YOUR FATHER. 
I WANT YOU TO LIVE AS I HAVE TAUGHT YOU TO AND TO 
LOVE YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER.' "ALL THAT I AM OR 
HOPE TO BE I OWE TO MY DARLING MOTHER." 



THE SPRING 

QATIIKES best gift to the Lincoln Farm is the 
spring of cool water, which igave the property 
the name of Lincoln Spring Farm in the early days of 
its history. It is located at the foot of the elevation on 
which the memorial bnilding stands, and tli'^ approach is 
a descent down a flight of stone steps, leading to the rock 
cave which forms a natnral s|)ring house for the never 
failing stream. The cave is high enough for one to stand 
u])right, and wdde enough to accomodate a numl)er of 
people. Its walls are covin-ed with vegetation and the 
overhanging trees make it one of the most beautiful s])ots 
on the entire reservation. The water gushes forth from 
a crevice in th(^ rock and falls gracefully into a cavity 
that hns Ix-en made l)y the centuries of its continued ser- 
vice. 

The spring Ir und(m()tedly very much the same as it 
was in the day^: that the Lincoln family secured from it 
their water su]j])ly, and its ])resence was probably re- 
s])onsible for the location of the cabin which stood close 
by. When Lincoln was president, in conversation with 
an old citizen of LaRue County, Dr. Jesse Rodman, he 
remarked about having remembered the old S])ring. 

The visitor to tl e spring may see carved in the wall 
the letters S. G. placed there in 1860 by Samuel Castene. 
Mr. Castene borrowed the hammer and chisel used in car- 
ving the initials from R. W . Creal, the present Judge of 
IjaRue County, who was then a small boy on his father's 
farm and who lived in the old cabin at the entrance to the 
Park. Soldiers returning nfter the Civil AVar remarkevl 
that someone had carved in the wall of the old spring, the 
initials standing for Southern Confederacv. 



THE OLD OAK 

ONE of the most interesting features in the Park is 
often overlooked by the visitor, but certainly not 
l)ecause of its obscurity. The giant corner oak over- 
shadows everything else in its immediate vicinity and 
it is doubtful if it has an equal in size in the entire coun- 
ty. If one could interpret the language of the trees, like 
the Exiled Duk(^ in the Garden of Arden, the tongue of 
this tree might tell an interesting story. There is no 
d(nd)t l)ut what the boy Lincoln ])layed day after (hiy in 
the shade of this old settler, which even at that early date 
liad ac(iuired some age. 

All old deed dated in ISi^T in which the Lincoln farm 
was conveyed from Wright and Duckv/orth to Micajah 
Middleton, suggests that at this time the tree was well 
known and wjis large enough to distinguish it fi'om its 
neighliors. The clause of interest in the deed reads, "To 
l)egin at a noted white oak D. V. Nuance's corner. " Tliis 
same white oak appears to l)e the first point designated 
in the l)oun(Uu"ies of four farmswhich at one timecornered 
at the oak, at ])resent three farms use the tree as the 
starting ])()int of th<'ir boundary surveys. 

The white oak is in a ])"i-fe"t state of preservatitui 
and seems good for at least another century. It makes n 
substantial growth each year and shows no signs of de- 
cay- The trunk has a circumference of fifteen feet two 
inches at a point six feet from the ground, and the foliage 
a spread of one hundred and eight feet. It is located 
about .')()() feet south of the s|)ring. 




Tihe Old ©alR 



NATURES CONTRIBUTION 

DATURE has blessed the reservation, not so nnich with 
an orderly display of cultivated flowers and shrulj- 
bery as with wild berries, tangled brush, crazy vines and 
trees, all sizes, all a^^'es, and innatural state of preservation 
of all sizes, all ages, and in natural states of preservation. 
Such an environment has called within these protected 
acres a varied feathered flock such as find their nesting- 
place in Kentucky. The lover of bird life may find them 
all present from Jennie Wren, who makes her home in a 
tin can near headquarters; to the gawky old Buzzard who 
may be seen day after day against the sky over the Memo 
rial Building, but who really lives Avitliin the farm bound 
ries. Th' Kentucky Cardinal likes to sport in the t]"ees 
near the Memorial Building where his Idazing coat of revl 
finds a fitting background in the granite structure. Th'^ 
writer knows the favorite bush where a pair of Mocking 
Birds from year to year raise a chorus of songstc^rs, and 
can knock on the ])Ost where a pair of Bluelurds go ^.i 
housekeeping in the early Spring. 

The most interesting feathered tenants at the farm 
however, is a i)air of Peewees that 1)uihl at the top of one 
of the giant colunms of the Memorial Building. Their 
ancestors |)ro]3abdy secured a squatters right on the farm 
long before Thomas Lincoln mov((l iisto the huml>le calun, 
and now that they have been prevented from build in?;; 
under the old thatched roof= thev come as near as T)os- 
sible to their cal)in home. Tt is to 1h' 1io]xmI that a ])or 
tion of the farm at least, may never be cleared of its old 
brush, its decay^'d trees and the various elements necessary 
to make the l)irds feel at home cm this nati(mal rescrvn 
tion 



W60 



^ C) 



iS>^^ 












4 o 



V^ f 1 • ° 




















v-^^ 



<. 



.0' 







-^- 



.^* ^-c^ r-^^:: ^V 










; .^°^ \i 








>b v» :» 



.<• .'. 







a^ - o V 








•^0^ 







* ^ *>*■, oT< 














^z 




'^- 











<* r^ .^ ♦>»2^% ^ aS * 















WERT 








,• J'^\ ''^!^W.' y\ \„„ 



